The nightmare choice
by Doc Lee
Summary: A response to the end of 802 & the season 8 storyline as a whole. Starts off really dark & contains character deaths. Rated M for that reason.


*sighs* put me on the long list of fans that think Season 8 has been a disaster. The decision the show runners have made has ruined the show for me and I honestly don't know if I want to continue watching if the current storyline become permanent.

This is one of two stories I'm going with coming out of the ending of 802 and I have to warn people that it's really, REALLY dark to start off with and includes character deaths (Kinda). Normally I don't enjoy reading stories like this, so if you feel you can't or don't want to read it, I won't be offended.

I would like to ask that, while I love getting reviews (as they have always helped me make my stories better), I ask that people not just post their view on the Season 8 storyline please. Thank you.

Disclaimer - the people that own Castle are the people that own Castle... I am definitely not one of those people.

* * *

It had started with her father. The call had come a week after Kate Beckett had walked away from her husband. Jim Beckett had been found dead in his home from alcohol poisoning, countless empty bottles laying around the house. Months after that it had been The Ryan's. To celebrate their son's first birthday Kevin had paid for a weekend in Florida with his wife and children, but the plane had disappeared off the coast and two years later not a trace of it had been located. Javier had been next. Unable to work in the NYPD after losing his partner, he'd transferred to the ATF where he'd been the only casualty of a deranged former employee shooting up an office.

Martha died barely a week later from what the doctors had labelled a sudden massive stroke, while Lanie was last seen being bundled into a black van against her will. Her remains were discovered the next day inside the burnt out remains of the van. Pearlmutter's autopsy results had discovered the heart wrenching conclusion that Lanie had been alive when the van was torched. Even Madison Queller was gone, killed in a gas explosion at the grand opening of her latest restaurant in Chicago.

Everyone was dying. All those she'd loved we're being taken out one by one. Kate knew that she was to blame for their deaths, her obsession in finding the man behind Bracken's death was killing her whole family. She'd thrown everything away, destroyed countless lives because she couldn't stop chasing down those behind her mother's death. Bracken had nearly taken everything. Whoever killed him was taking the rest.

Crouched beside an open door into a warehouse, Kate reloaded her weapon and cautiously stood, the gun sweeping around into the plain room. The scene that met Kate ripped the breath from her lungs in a wordless scream.

Two chair sat in the middle of the square room, both occupied by bodies slumped over and even though their faces were hidden Kate instantly realised who the long red hair belonged to.

'ALEXIS!' Kate sprinted across the room, tears streaming down her face at the sheer amount of dried blood on the younger woman. Dropping to her knees, Kate wailed at finding the piercing blue eyes dull and lifeless.

'NO!' Kate sobbed, her hand cupping the cold skin on Alexis' cheek, 'no no no no no! Alexis! Please no...'

'She's dead...' A whisper wrenched Kate away from Alexis' body to stare at a pair of dull blue eyes spitting fire, 'My little girl is dead because of you Kate.'

'Rick...' Kate whimpered, 'No...'

'You killed her Kate,' Rick gasped painfully, his blood covered torso shaking, 'You killed my daughter.'

'No, no, no, no, no!' Kate babbled, 'No... It's not my fault... This is him, the man that k...'

'You ran... Ran headlong at him Kate,' Rick's dimming eyes spat fire, 'You knew he would react. He killed your father, Kevin, Javi... Mother... Everyone you knew and loved. Dead because you couldn't stop your... Your obsession.'

'And now he's killed us,' Tears ran down his cheeks, 'She screamed... Begged them not to do it... Alexis died slowly and I couldn't stop it. You caused this Kate... This is all your fault.'

Rick's voice trailed off as he succumbed to his own injuries, 'You... Said you loved me, loved... Us. I wish I'd never met you...'

'RICK!' Kate screamed, the man she loved slipping away before her. Sobbing uncontrollably, Kate bolted across the space between them and gripped Rick's head in her hands. Lifting his head, she screamed, 'NO! Rick! Please babe... Open your eyes Rick.'

Kate wept against Rick, her head buried in his lap as she fisted his blood soaked top, 'No... This isn't what I wanted. This isn't what was supposed to happen. You were meant to be safe, you were all meant to be safe.'

'Safe?' a deep voice boomed behind Kate. Jerking up, she levelled a killer glare at the man stood smirking a few feet away surrounded by men holding automatic weapons, 'They were safe, then you tried to take me down. You ran headfirst at me and you got everyone you loved killed Katherine. Their deaths are on you and only you.'

'Mr Castle was right,' The man sneered, 'He should never have met you captain. He might be alive if he hadn't. His beautiful daughter wouldn't have died in such agony if you had stayed away from them.'

Kate sobbed as the man spoke, her head dropping into Rick's lap. She didn't see the look of contempt sent her way from the doorway, the man pausing and huffing, 'I'll take pity on you Captain, your death will be quick.'

He'd barely taken two steps away from the door before the gunshots rang out, a deadly smile crossing his face at the conclusion of the little threat against him.

* * *

Rick Castle stood behind the island counter in his kitchen his focus on the s'morelette sizzling in the pan over the hob. The soft music playing from the iPod dock nearby washed over him, a sense of contentment leaving a sappy smile on his face.

The blood curdling scream of absolute terror destroyed that feeling stone dead, the pan clattering into the sink and splashing it's contents up onto the countertop.

'Kate!' Rick flicked off the hob and skidded around the counter, sprinting across the loft faster than he thought possible. Bursting into the bedroom, he found Kate curled up on the bed, her hands covering her swollen stomach as she sobbed loudly, 'Kate! Wake up Kate!'

'Nooo!' Kate wailed, 'Rick... Please no!'

'Kate!' Rick knelt on the bed and brushed his wife's damp hair out her face, his lips pressing into her skin, 'Kate, I'm here. I'm okay. Wake up Kate... Wake up. I'm here. It's okay...' Rick continued whispering the words over and over, Kate slowly calming as they took root inside whatever nightmare she was experiencing.

'Rick?' Kate's voice was rough from her cries, 'What...?'

'You were having a nightmare honey,' Rick laid down next to Kate, gripping Kate's hand in his and rubbing gentle circles over her stomach with his other hand, 'A bad one from the looks of things. You were screaming and I was worried something was wrong with the slugger.'

'Where's Alexis?' Kate suddenly tensed, memories of her nightmare seeping back into her head, 'Rick, where's my daughter?'

'She's at the office today with Haley going over paperwork,' Rick felt his chest tighten at the sheer terror in Kate's eyes, 'What's wrong?'

'Where's my phone?' Kate struggled to sit up with her stomach, 'I need my phone now!'

'Kate,' Rick helped Kate up, 'Slow down and tell me what's...'

'LOCSAT!' Kate barked, 'I chose LOCSAT and everyone died. Dad died from alcohol poisoning, Kevin and Jenny died in a plane crash, Espo was shot, Martha's stroke killed her, Lanie was murdered after being snatched off the street and Maddie died in a gas explosion. All covers for whoever was behind LOCSAT killing people to stop me looking into them.'

'God Kate...' Rick pulled his wife into a hug, her renewed tears soaking into hhis chest.

'Then I found you,' Kate sobbed, 'Dying with Alexis dead next to you. They'd taken you last and killed Alexis in front of you. You died in my arms Rick... The last... Last thing you said before you died was that I'd killed Alexis and you'd wished that you'd n-n-never met me!'

'I need to see her Rick,' Kate hiccuped, her stomach making what should be an easy exit from the bed a struggle, 'Where is she?'

'At the office,' Rick repeated, a worried look crossing his face as Kate started towards the bedroom door dressed in just a flimsy t-shirt and the very short pjyama shorts, 'Kate, Stop!'

'No,' Kate turned, tears filling her eyes, 'I need to see Alexis Rick. That nightmare felt so goddamn real to me. I can still smell the blood that was all over her. I need to know she's okay.'

'And you will honey,' Rick walked over to Kate and wrapped his arms around her, 'But first you need to put on some warmer clothing than what you have on now. Once you do that, I'll take you to her. I promise you that.'

'Please...' Kate whimpered. She knew she was being irrational, that Alexis was perfectly fine, but the image of her from the nightmare was seared into Kate's head and she needed to feel the young woman before she could get past the dream.

'I'm sorry,' Kate whispered into Rick's chest as the two stood in the middle of the elevator down to the garage, 'For what I did seven months ago. For almost walking away.'

'You didn't Kate,' Rick sighed, his hold on his wife tightening, 'You stayed.'

'What if Lanie hadn't noticed the altered levels in the blood you found,' Kate hiccuped, the pregnancy hormones leaving her weepy, 'What if she hadn't found out I was pregnant? Would I have caused the nightmare to be a reality?'

'Kate,' Rick pressed his lips against Kate's forehead, 'We've talked about this with Burke. I was hurt, worse than I ever thought possible, when I saw you standing there with the bag. I've always blustered over the fact I'm not a confident guy and seeing you about to choose a life on the run again after all we'd been through is something that has taken me a long time to get over.'

The elevator jerked to a stop, the doors opening into the brightly lit garage. Rick slipped his arm down to the small of Kate's back and guided her towards the black SUV sat next to the flashy red Ferrari, 'I'm never going to be able to express how grateful I am for Lanie's stubbornness. Because of her not letting you ignore her calls, that dream of yours will never happen and I will always, always feel blessed that we met you.'

Kate dove into Rick's chest, her body shaking with the tears his words had spilled from her. Eventually, Rick was able to coax Kate into the vehicle and they quietly made their way through the New York traffic with Rick's left hand gripped between both of Kate's over her stomach.

The happy laughter could be heard when Kate entered the PI office and she didn't even bother to try and stop the renewed deluge of tears. Finding her feet frozen to the floor, she turned to her husband to find a gentle look of understanding cross his face.

'I'll bring her out,' Rick wiped his thumb over Kate's cheek, 'she's okay Kate.'

The moment Alexis' concerned face came into view, Kate three herself across the room and wrapped her stepdaughter in a tight hug. The woman's strong heartbeat pulsed under the hand Kate splayed over her back and, in addition to Alexis' melodic voice in her ear, Kate was slowly able to banish the horrific images from her mind.

'I think Haley can handle the rest of the paperwork,' Rick saw the Brit nod over his family's heads, 'So I propose that we go home and order in that Thai stuff you've been craving, curl up on the couch and spend the rest of the day watching corny movies?'

'Sounds like a brilliant plan Dad,' Alexis smiled, her brilliant blue eyes wet with her own tears.

Later that night, after hours upon hours of silly movies, Kate lay on the couch with a sleeping Alexis in her arms and Rick slumped the other side of her with his head resting on his chest snoring gently. Wiping yet another trail of tears from her cheek, Kate stroked her stomach and gave thanks to whatever deity was up above for being able to have the family she'd always desired.


End file.
